Threshold flux measurement of an ultrafiltration membrane module in the treatment of two-phase olive mill wastewater

The critical and threshold flux theories represent an important advance in membrane knowledge. Comprehension of the flux behavior of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes is key to control the fouling issues during the steady operation of the plant. In this regard, differing between critical or threshold flux patterns in the treatment of wastewater effluents by UF is relevant to confirm the level of fouling expected and to verify if no fouling is predictable or if certain amount of fouling cannot be avoided. In the present study, the hydrodynamic behavior of a polymeric UF membrane was analyzed by means of both critical and threshold flux theories and diverse patterns were found depending on the feedstock pollutants concentration and particle size distribution. Results obtained from the pressure-cycling experiments point for a threshold flux pattern in the case of UF of the effluent derived from the extraction process (OMW) disregarding the applied pretreatment, whereas for 1:1 (v/v) mixture of the latter with the wastewater from the fruit washing (OWW) the membrane fits a critical flux trend, indistinctly of the performed pretreatment too, with negligible fouling below the critical conditions. These conclusions are supported by the experimental permeate flux profiles during batch-run operation experiments.     

Membrane processes for water reuse from the effluent of industrial park wastewater treatment plant: a study on flux and fouling of membrane

Both the relationship between the flux and the fouling mechanism of ultrafiltration (UF) membrane and the effects of pretreatment before reverse osmosis (RO) process on the treatment of the effluent of industrial park wastewater treatment plant (IPWTP) were investigated to examine the application of membrane processes on the water reuse treatment. For the former, the flux data was first fitted to the Hermia model to give the implication of the fouling mechanism. Then, the fouling mechanism was further identified with the aid of the SEM morphology of membrane surfaces. For the latter, the changes of both water characteristics (turbidity, TOC, conductivity, particle size distribution, and organic solute molecular weight) and membrane properties (surface zeta potential and surface morphology) before and after the treatment of membrane processes were measured. It was found that the major blocking mechanisms of UF membrane process at initial and final stage were standard blocking of pore (causing from colloid materials) and cake blocking of pore (causing from suspended particles), respectively. On the other hand, it was concluded that the permeate from 1 μm/UF/RO process was suitable for the reuse of cooling water and low pressure boiler water.     

Study of drinking water treatment by ultrafiltration of surface water and its application to China

In China, many water supplies depend on conventional water treatment. Due to unfit soil and water conservationin some regions of China, conventional water treatment has showed some defects for the poor quality of water resource. In addition, advances in membrane technology and increasing requirements on water quality have stimulated ultrafiltration (UF) for water treatment. In this research, OF test apparatus was set up to produce drinking water from raw water of the Binxian Reservoir (China). The performance of UF membranes was investigated. There was a linear relationship between membrane resistance and accumulated permeate water. Using coagulation before OF increased permeate flux and retarded membrane flux decline. Surprisingly, membrane permeate flux in a coagulation/UF process was higher than that in coagulation-sand filtration-UF process with raw water of medium turbidity. OF treatment provided effective turbidity removal. Iron, manganese and aluminum were removed completely. The UF membrane also perfectly removed all coliform bacteria. The reduction of total organic carbon was satisfactory. The treated water quality complied with China's drinking water guidelines. The Ames test showed that the mutagenic activities of membrane permeate water was negative.     

An advanced treatment of high-strength opium alkaloid processing industry wastewaters with membrane technology: pretreatment, fouling and retention characteristics of membranes

This paper presents the results of the laboratory and pilot-scale membrane experiments of opium alkaloid processing industry effluents. Different types of ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were evaluated for membrane fouling, permeate flux and their suitability in separating COD, color and conductivity. Experiments demonstrated that membrane treatment is a very promising advanced treatment option for pollution control for opium alkaloid processing industry effluents. Almost complete color removal was achieved with NF and RO membranes. COD and conductivity removals were also greater than 95% and met the current local standards. Nevertheless, pretreatment was an important factor for the NF and RO membrane applications. Membrane fouling occurred with direct NF membrane applications without UF pretreatment. The total estimated cost of the UF and NF treatment system was calculated as $0.96/m³, excluding the concentrate disposal cost.     

Role of coagulation in membrane filtration of wastewater for reuse

This study explains the role of coagulation in membrane filtration of wastewater for reuse. For this purpose, a coagulation-ultrafiltration (UF) membrane system was used to treat secondary effluent from a nearby wastewater treatment plant using a rotating biological contactor. The study proceeded with the hypothesis that coagulation could affect membrane filtration through two phenomena: change in particle characteristics and contaminant loading reduction. If fouling reduction were observed at a low alum dosage, coagulation would affect membrane performance by changing particle characteristics because contaminant reduction could not be possible at low dosage. If fouling reduction were observed only at a high alum dosage, the role of coagulation would be contaminant loading reduction. Results showed that both phenomena were important. Coagulation improved the membrane performance by changing particle characteristics at a low alum dosage. The improvement was achieved through both a change in particle characteristics and contaminant loading reduction at a high alum dosage. Particle size among various characteristics was found the most important for membrane fouling. Coagulation increased particle size, which led to a reduction of fouling. The beneficial effect from coagulation was observed at both fouling steps of pore blocking/adsorption and cake formation. Coagulation pretreatment was also beneficial for the improvement of the permeate quality in terms of organic matter.     

浸没式超滤海水预处理工艺

目前渤海湾反渗透海水淡化工程多采用新型的超滤膜法预处理工艺,为提高预处理效果,主要进行超滤膜材料和性能改进以及膜组件运行参数的优化,而对超滤膜前预处理的研究相对较少。本实验研究了超滤与混凝/超滤作为反渗透海水淡化预处理工艺的处理效果。考察了两种预处理工艺条件下浸没式超滤膜比通量(SF)、进水水质、产水水质,膜孔孔径变化、反洗效果及膜表面污染情况。结果表明,超滤与混凝/超滤两种预处理工艺都能达到产水SDI₁₅<2.0;混凝处理可以大幅度降低海水中颗粒数目,降低颗粒物在膜表面沉积和吸附的概率,减轻超滤膜的污染。当采用混凝/超滤工艺时超滤膜表面滤饼层疏松多孔,膜孔孔径变化较小,超滤膜比通量的衰减速度减缓,反洗时超滤膜比通量恢复率较高。     

微纳米气泡对超滤膜过滤腐植酸污染影响研究

为有效解决超滤过程中因有机物堵塞膜孔导致的膜污染和渗透通量下降问题，提出在对腐植酸（HA）溶液超滤传输及反洗过程中引入微纳米气泡水处理工艺，以强化超滤过程，实验研究了微纳米气泡对超滤膜渗透通量和截留效率的影响以及膜污染去除效果。结果表明在纯水和HA溶液中鼓入微纳米气泡后其归一化通量增大到1.1~1.3，截留效率提高了2.5%~22.0%，微纳米气泡水清洗和反洗后膜通量恢复分别高于纯水21%和25%。     

Application of combined coagulation-ultrafiltration membrane process for water treatment

The objectives of this research are to identify the membrane fouling potential due to different fractions of NOM and correlate the physicochemical properties of NOM and membranes with the adsorption of humic substances on membrane and investigate the mechanism of coagulation affecting UF, and find the optimum conditions of the combined of coagulation with UF membrane filtration for NOM removal. For Nakdong river water, the humic acid fraction was the most reactive precursor fraction for the formation of the ratio of THMFP/DOC (STHMFP) and TOXFP/DOC (STOXFP). The result of adsorption kinetics tests showed that hydrophobic organics adsorbed much more quickly than hydrophilic organics on both membranes. Thus, hydrophobic compounds exhibited a preferential adsorption onto membrane. In case of the effect of membrane properties on the adsorption of organic fractions, the adsorption ratio (C₁/C_e) was greater for the hydrophobic membrane than for the hydrophilic membrane regardless of the kind of organic fractions. For combined coagulation with membrane process, flux reduction rate showed lower than the UF process alone. Also, the rate of flux decline for the hydrophobic membrane was considerably greater than for the hydrophilic membrane. Applying the coagulation process before membrane filtration showed not only reduced membrane fouling, but also improved removal of dissolved organic materials that might otherwise not be removed by the membrane. That is, during the mixing period, substantial changes in particle size distribution occurred under rapid and slow mixing conditions due to the simultaneous formation of microflocs and NOM precipitates. Therefore, combined pretreatment using coagulation (both rapid mixing and slow mixing) improved not only dissolved organic removal efficiency but also DBP (Disinfection By-Product) precursor's removal efficiency.     

Ultrafiltration of lake water for potable water production

Ultrafiltration with coagulation or powdered activated carbon pretreatment is used to treat water from a public water supply. While UF without pretreatment is effective in removing turbidity, pretreatment prior to UF greatly enhances the removal of natural organic matter and trihalomethane precursors. Short-term flux loss can be minimized with backflushing, while long-term irreversible fouling seems to be affected most by the type of membrane polymer.     

Purification and Concentration of Caustic Mercerization Wastewater by Membrane Processes and Evaporation for Reuse

A membrane-based treatment strategy was developed for purifying the highly alkaline textile mercerization wastewater. 0.2-μm MF and 100 kDa UF membranes were evaluated as pretreatment alternatives before 10 kDa UF and 200 Da NF membranes. Turbidity was almost totally removed by both pretreatment options, while UF (100 kDa) showed higher COD retention than MF. In total recycle mode of filtration, fouling of both UF and MF membranes were 80% reversible by physical and almost totally reversible (≥ 97%) by chemical cleaning. In the second stage filtrations applied to the pretreated wastewater samples, NF could yield high (97-98%) COD retentions and low permeate COD concentrations (≤ 22 mg/L), while 10 kDa UF could only reduce the COD concentration to 150 mg/L. While no NaOH was lost in the MF+UF process, the use of NF as second stage resulted in 12-17% NaOH retention. The permeate flux in all second stage processes were stable, implying that the majority of the feed components that would cause fouling had been removed in the pretreatment stages. Permeate of the MF+NF sequence was concentrated by evaporation with no foaming problems, showing that the hybrid process can be applied to recycle a purified and concentrated caustic stream to the mercerization process.     

Optimizing the coagulant dose to control membrane fouling in combined coagulation/ultrafiltration systems for textile wastewater reclamation

Optimal coagulation conditions need to be re-examined when coagulation is coupled to membrane filtration for wastewater treatment. This work focused on the optimization of coagulant dosing in order to control membrane fouling in ultrafiltration (UF), following coagulation for the reclamation of textile wastewater. The effects of pore size and coagulant types and dosages on flux decline were investigated using a stirred-cell UF unit. The flux was greatly enhanced for the UF membrane when a coagulant was added, whereas for the microfiltration (MF) membrane the flux decreased. This could be attributed to changes in the size of coagulated particles and their interaction with membrane pores. At a low dosage (e.g., 0.0371 mM as Al), the polyaluminum chloride (PACl) coagulant was found to control the flux decline most effectively for low ionic-strength wastewater. The optimal dose minimized the fouling and cake layer resistances, although it was sharp and dependent on influent composition. The cake layer protected the membrane from fouling, but it provided additional resistance to permeation. Analyses of turbidity, particle size, and membrane surface exhibited the characteristics of coagulated particles and their cake structures that are closely associated with flux behavior.     

Optimization of backflushing conditions for ceramic ultrafiltration membrane of disperse dye solutions

In the ultrafiltration (UF) of disperse dye solutions using ceramic membrane, backflushing is necessary to minimize the formation of fouling by disperse dye, and to enhance the permeate flux. In this work, the effects of backflushing on the ultrafiltration performance and decolorization were investigated. In the optimum backflushing condition, the permeate flux increased slightly and the filtration performance was stable during filtration process.     

Critical flux analyses on differently pretreated olive vegetation waste water streams: Some case studies

One of the main disadvantages of batch membrane processes is the increase of the pollutant concentration in the feedstock throughout the operation. Operating the plant at constant process conditions leads in many cases to weaker performances and, moreover, to heavy fouling on the membranes. Critical flux-based methods are one of the most used approaches to overcome fouling problems. Within critical flux conditions, only reversible fouling can occur, which can be periodically soft-cleaned.This work studies the relationship between particle size distributions in the feed stream and critical flux values when different pretreatment processes are applied to an olive vegetation waste water stream. The considered pretreatment processes were: coagulation (with aluminum hydroxide and aluminum sulphate), aerobic biodigestion (by means of fungi) and photocatalytic organic matter reduction (by means of nanometric titanium dioxide anatase powders irradiated by UV light). The study was carried out at pilot plant scale (100 L batch capacity).These results were compared with performances and effects on the critical flux value for MF, UF and NF membranes. The different pretreatment on the same waste water stream shifts differently the particle size distribution mainly by organic matter degradation, and this influences heavily the critical flux value and thus the filtration outcome.Finally, the purification of the olive vegetation waste water stream can be performed with a MF, UF, NF and RO membrane system in series, being very careful in choosing the correct operating conditions to avoid the quick formation of an unsustainable fouling.     

Fouling control in activated sludge submerged hollow fiber membrane bioreactors

The goal of this study is to determine the impact of various operating factors on membrane fouling in activated sludge membrane bioreactor (MBR) process, typically used for water reclamation. In this process, ultrafiltration (UF) and microfiltration (MF) hollow fiber membranes, submerged in the bioreactor, provided a solid—liquid separation by replacing gravity settling. Activated sludge from a food wastewater treatment plant was inoculated to purify synthetic wastewater consisting of glucose and (NH₄)₂SO₄ as a source of carbon and nitrogen, respectively. The results clearly showed that membrane fouling, defined as permeate flux decline due to accumulation of substances within membrane pores and/or onto membrane surface, was greatly influenced by membrane type and module configuration. It was also found that the rate and extent of permeate flux decline increased with increasing suction pressure (or initial operating flux) and with decreasing air-scouring rate. The mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentrations, however, exhibited very little influence on permeate flux for the range of 3600-8400 mg/L. Another important finding of this investigation was that non-continuous membrane operation significantly improved membrane productivity. This observation can be explained by the enhanced back transport of foulants under pressure relaxation. During non-suction periods, the foulants not irreversibly attached to the membrane surface, diffused away from the membrane surface because of concentration gradient. Furthermore, the effectiveness of air scouring was greatly enhanced in the absence of transmembrane suction pressure, resulting in higher removal of foulants accumulated on the membrane surface. The use of intermittent suction operation may not be economically feasible at large-scale, but it may offer an effective fouling control means for small-scale MBR processes treating wastewaters with high fouling potential.     

混凝耦合多孔陶瓷膜净化河水简

Membrane filtration technology combined with coagulation is widely used to purify river water. In this study, micro filtration （MF） and ultrafiltration （UF） ceramic membranes were combined with coagulation to treat local river water located at Xinghua, Jiangsu province, China. The operation parameters, fouling mechanism and pilot-scale tests were investigated. The results show that the pore size of membrane has small effect on the pseudo-steady flux for dead-end filtration, and the increase of flux in MF process is more than that in UF process for cross-flow filtration with the same increase of cross-flow velocity. The membrane pore size has little influence on the water quality. The analysis on membrane fouling mechanism shows that the cake filtrationhas significant in fluence on the pseudo-steady flux and water quality for the membrane with pore size of 50, 200 and 500 nm. For the membrane with pore size of 200 nm and backwashing employed in our pilot study, a constant flux of 150 L-m^-2-h^-1 was reached during stable operation, with the removal efficiency of turbidity, total organic carbon （TOC） and UV254 higher than 99%, 45% and 48%, respectively. The study demonstrates that coagulation-porous ceramic membrane hybrid process is a reliable method for river water purification.     

Performance evaluation of pretreatment processes in integrated membrane system for wastewater reuse

A series of lab-scale filtration experiments were performed under various operating conditions to investigate the fouling behavior of microfiltration (MF) membranes when employing two different pretreatment methods. The secondary effluents from a biologically advanced treatment process were fed to each hybrid system, consisting of coagulation-flocculation-MF (CF-MF) and ozonation-MF processes. All experiments were carried out using a stirred-cell system, which consisted of polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) MF membranes with a 0.22 μm pore size. When MF membrane was used alone without any pretreatment, the permeate flux dropped significantly. However, in the case of employing polyaluminium chloride (PACl) coagulation and ozonation as a pretreatment, the extent of flux decline rates was enhanced up to 88 and 38%, respectively. In the CF-MF hybrid system, the removal efficiencies of COD and total phosphorus were significantly enhanced at a coagulant dose above 30 mg/L. With ozonation, more than 90% of the color was removed even at a low dosage of ozone (5 mg/L). Therefore, ozonation would be strongly recommended as a pretreatment in terms of removing organic matter. The permeate water quality by ozonation-MF process was in good compliance with the guidelines for wastewater reuse proposed by South Korean Ministry of Environment.     

Ultrafiltration of Coagulation-Pretreated Serratia marcescens Fermentation Broth: Flux Characteristics and Prodigiosin Recovery

The dead-end ultrafiltration (UF) of coagulation-pretreated fermentation broth of Serratia marcescens SMΔR for prodigiosin recovery was studied. Experiments were performed using different types (regenerated cellulose, YM; polyethersulfone, PES) and molecular weight cut-offs (MWCOs, 1–10 kDa) of the membranes, feed concentrations of prodigiosin (300–1000 mg/L), applied pressures (68.9–206.8 kPa), and stirring speeds (200–400 rpm). With the same MWCO, the YM membrane had a higher retention of prodigiosin and a lower flux than the PES membrane. A two-fold concentration of prodigiosin was observed in the retentate using a 1-kDa YM membrane compared to the concentration in the permeate using a 10-kDa YM membrane. In addition, the extent of membrane fouling was quantitatively analyzed in terms of the modified fouling index. Flux decline in the present batch UF process was mainly due to cake layer formation and partly due to pore blocking. A two-stage UF process was proposed for this purpose, with 81% recovery yield and four-fold concentration.     

Effect of algal extracellular polymer substances on UF membrane fouling

Low-pressure membrane processes, such as ultrafiltration (UF), are effective for treating algae-laden eutrophic source waters. However, fouling caused by algae excreted organics can be a major obstacle to the smooth operation of membrane processes. In this study, three algae species, with a similar cell size and shape, but a different amount of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), were selected. The characteristics of the bound EPS, including its amount and constituents, mainly polysaccharide and protein, were analyzed. Cell suspensions were filtered through a dead-end stirred cell with a regenerated cellulose UF membrane. Based on the observations of permeate flux decline at higher transmembrane pressure (TMP) and critical flux values, it can be concluded that algae cell EPS do affect membrane fouling, and the constituents of EPS may also play a role.     

投加粉末活性炭对超滤膜去除海水中有机物的影响

超滤膜的有机污染问题是膜法海水预处理技术在海水淡化工程应用面临的重要挑战,粉末活性炭吸附是目前常用的膜前预处理手段之一。本文对比分析了直接超滤和投加粉末活性炭后对海水中有机物的截留能力,利用三维荧光光谱分析了投加粉末活性炭对超滤膜截留有机物的影响机制,并考察了海水超滤过程中通量变化及膜污染情况。研究结果表明,投加粉末活性炭能够强化超滤膜对海水浊度和有机物的去除,当粉末活性炭投量为200mg/L时,整个系统对海水中DOC去除率从直接超滤时的55.1%提高到77.6%。利用粉末活性炭的吸附作用及其在超滤膜表面形成的疏松滤饼层能够显著提高超滤系统对海水中腐植酸类有机物的去除能力。与直接超滤相比,粉末活性炭-超滤系统对改善膜通量的作用有限,但粉末活性炭形成的滤饼层能够避免超滤膜与有机物直接接触,可显著减缓超滤膜的不可逆污染。     

Preparation and characterization of polysulfone ultrafiltration membranes for concentrating waste tuna broth

Three sets of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared containing the following proportions (w/w) of polysulfone and dimethylacetamide: 14.5/85.5, 15.0/85.0 and 15.5/84.5. The membranes were characterized in terms of water flux, molecular weight (MW) cut-off, fouling, average pore size and ratio of pore surface area to membrane area. Membrane water flux was found to decrease as the polysulfone concentration or membrane thickness was increased. Scanning electron microscopy showed an asymmetric pore structure and indicated that the variation in water flux between membrane sets were probably due to differences in the number of pores per unit membrane area and not to differences in pore diameter. The MW cut-off for all the membranes was found to be close to 66 kD. The permeate flux for standard proteins decreased with increasing protein MW. A decrease in water flux was also observed after the UF runs; this could be explained by membrane fouling.

Defatted waste tuna broth, which was obtained from a fish canning plant as steam condensate after autoclaving fresh tuna, was ultrafiltered using the prepared membranes. The rejection coefficient for either protein or carbohydrate solute of the tuna broth was approximately 54.5% while solute recovery was about 90%. The ultrafiltered broth had negligible turbidity and odor.